Tantalus 1
Kyle does not want to leave his home behind, but he has no choice. He is assigned to a remote scientific outpost on the planet Tantalus where he meets Jim, the xenobiologist in charge of researching the indigenous species. Almost as soon as he arrives, though, strange things start happening. Things that could compromise Kyle's future, or even his life...
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Tantalus
by Albert Nothlit
Chapter 1. Arrival
I did not make a scene when my mother finally kicked me off the planet. I just sat in the shuttle, arms crossed, ignoring the other passengers and looking out the window. I wondered if she was glad to see me go, relieved that she would finally be left alone to mourn my father in peace. She hadn't said much, the last time we spoke. She essentially told me not to screw up like I did everything else.
"This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity," she’d said at the spaceport. "Dr. O'Brien is the best xenobiologist in his field. This apprenticeship is a guaranteed ticket to a professional certification, even without a college degree."
"You mean it's my only chance at getting a job now that they kicked me out of college," I answered.
She sighed. "Kyle, please. Let's not do this again. You are officially an adult now. Act like one."
"Oh, right. Because I turned eighteen yesterday. And what better birthday present than to waste all the money we got from the settlement on this stupid ticket to nowhere?"
"Dr. O'Brien's research station is isolated, but—"
"But expenses don't matter when it comes to the opportunity to finally get rid of me, isn't that right? I saw you during the trial, Mother. I saw your shame when you spoke of me. You couldn't even bring yourself to say the word 'homosexual'."
Her eyes clouded over, like they did every single time I brought that up. "Kyle… You sent one of your classmates to the hospital."
"After he and three others jumped me!"
Another sigh. "It's almost time for you to leave. Promise me you will do your best. Maybe you don't appreciate it now, but I’ve done everything I can to help you on your way. This assignment to Tantalus was obtained as a great personal favor, but there won't be another one. This is your future now, son. It's up to you whether you succeed or not."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course. Change the subject like you usually do. Anything but acknowledging who I really am."
"Kyle…"
"Forget it. The shuttle’s leaving. Bye."
Okay, so maybe I lied. I did make a scene when my mother kicked me off the planet.
The trip was boring and uneventful. I got to see Cora, my home, receding in the window in a blur of clouds and oceans. I was a little surprised to feel nothing at all, seeing everything I had ever known getting smaller and smaller until it was just a little orb of reflected light. I was relieved in a way. I hadn't known anything down there but rejection. Maybe it would be different where I was going.
They gave us something to sleep then, and when I woke up all groggy an entire month had passed. I took a few pills and a few hours later I was feeling like myself again. I looked out the window and I saw the gigantic bulk of planet Argos filling up the view. It was a massive swirl of orange-and-tan clouds that gave the creepy impression of wanting to swallow everything around it.
Passengers, prepare for atmospheric entry in thirty minutes.
People around me began gathering up their stuff, some of them talking amongst themselves in incomprehensible scientific gibberish. I continued to stare out the window until I saw the tiny bright speck that was Tantalus, our final destination. It rattled my sense of scale. Tantalus was larger than my home planet, but compared to Argos, the gas giant it orbited, Tantalus was nothing. A white-and-green marble. A negligible dot. The information would not fit into my brain.
The shuttle disengaged from the transport ship and dropped us off at the spaceport. From there I used my ticket to board the only plane that made a full circuit of Tantalus, visiting the widely-spaced research stations on its surface. I got on and discovered that there were only four people on the plane with me. I caught all four of them eyeing me suspiciously at one point or another, probably wondering how a random teenager with ratty-looking clothes could afford interplanetary travel to come to a planet only scientists visited. I stared right back until they stopped looking.
The plane was really fast, a sleek barely-subsonic machine, but it still took me eighteen hours and five stops to get to where I was going. By the time I finally got out of that damn plane, walking through an airtight tunnel to the research station that was going to be my home now, I was literally dragging my feet. I had never felt so exhausted in my life.
"You forgot your stuff on the plane," a deep voice said behind me.
I turned around. The tunnel I was walking through was transparent plastic, and we were high up above the ground, so the effect was vertigo-inducing, like walking on a tightrope set too far up. It took me a moment to focus on the man who was walking towards me, carrying my large rucksack on one shoulder.
He was tall. I'm 1.90 and fit, but next to that guy I felt small. And wimpy. He had to be over two meters tall, and he was built like a pro wrestler. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt that looked about two seconds away from bursting open at the seams, hugging his muscular torso and flat belly tightly. He had cargo pants that were full of pockets and a utility belt that was crammed with stuff. His heavy black boots echoed in the silence of the tunnel. When he got closer, I could see that his hair was a bright shade of red, although he wore it buzzed short. Darker stubble shaded his cheeks, and his eyes were a piercing shade of green that I had not seen often in Cora.
It took me a couple of seconds to remember I could speak.
"Thanks," I said. He held out the rucksack like it weighed nothing, but I knew there were almost thirty kilos in there.
I took it from him as casually as possible, but the second he let go the weight of the rucksack hit me and I stumbled. Hard. I barely kept my footing, but it felt as if he had suddenly dropped a rock on top of me.
He laughed. "Nice reflexes. I'm surprised you didn't fall on your face."
I bristled. I swear the backpack felt heavier than when I’d left home. Maybe he'd stashed something in it just to make his little prank. "Heh. Real funny."
"The stronger gravity catches almost everyone off-guard. The variation is very slight numerically speaking, but everybody who comes here feels it. Trust me: living here, every day will feel like a workout."
"Sure. Whatever. Can you tell me where I can find Dr. O'Brien? I’m Kyle Mercer, his new apprentice. Is he inside the compound somewhere?"
The man grinned and stretched out his hand. "James O'Brien. Nice to meet you, Kyle."
I blinked. I had assumed he was a construction worker or something. It took me slightly longer than was polite to meet his handshake. His grip was very strong. "Uh, hi. I mean, nice to meet you, Dr. O'Brien."
"Call me Jim. How was your trip?" He started walking down the length of the tunnel, and I followed. The strap of the rucksack was digging into my shoulder.
"It was fine." I couldn't stifle a yawn.
He looked my way briefly and grinned. "I've made the trip to Cora and back three times. Not a single one was ‘fine’."
I nodded. "I'm exhausted."
"That's normal. Way too many changes at once. Zero gravity, then the cryo, the awakening chemicals and then this higher gravity. Also… maybe you're even a little homesick?"
I barked out a quick laugh. "Right."
Jim raised his eyebrow but didn't ask. He led me through a heavy-looking security hatch and into the research compound itself. We walked through a few corridors, then down a metal ladder that was a particular challenge with my rucksack. We made a couple more turns and then, finally, we got to the sleeping quarters. Mine turned out to be a tiny room barely large enough for the bed and one desk bolted to the wall. I dropped my stuff on the floor and plopped down on the bed.
Then I remembered that this guy was my boss now. I stood up again.
"Have a seat," Jim said, grabbing the chair next to the desk for himself. The chair creaked under his weight.
"Thanks," I answered, dropping back down on the mattress.
"How's your mother?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
"It must be hard for her, having sent you so far away. You probably won't see each other for years."
"No idea."
"And I’m sorry about your dad. I heard what happened."
Even months later, any mention of him still hurt. "Thanks," I said gruffly.
Jim settled back on his chair. I tried hard not to yawn again. "Listen, Kyle. I know you're tired and in a minute I will let you sleep, but there's something we need to talk about and I want to be upfront with you from the beginning. I don't really want an apprentice."
That woke me up again. "What?"
"I work alone in this compound, as you probably know."
"Studying the indigenous mammalian analogues that inhabit the surface of Tantalus," I said right away. I might not have wanted to come, but I'm not an idiot. I had done my homework.
"Yes, precisely. Unfortunately, I agreed to take you on as apprentice before certain… developments arose. Originally, I had intended to do it as a favor to my brother."
I nodded. Jim was the brother of my aunt’s husband. We were not related, but my mother must have taken full advantage of the tenuous family connection to get me this position.
"I know. Sort of," I said.
"The decision was made almost one month ago, when you departed from Cora, but since then I'm afraid that the nature of my work has become classified. I cannot have someone else working here under these circumstances, but I promised to get you an apprenticeship and I will try to get you reassigned to another research station here on Tantalus as soon as possible.
"I have seen your profile, Kyle: you were evaluated as Gifted Class 3 and you excel in creative problem solving. I can put in a good word for you and I'm sure I will be able to find you a permanent apprenticeship position in one of the other four stations on the planet before too long."
I wasn't liking this one bit. "And what if nobody will take me? I did not finish college. They kicked me out."
For daring to stand up for myself, I added silently.
"You will, don't worry. There are barely thirty people living on Tantalus on a semi-permanent basis and we all know each other. I will get you a position."
"But if you don't?" I insisted. "I can't go back to Cora; my ticket was one-way and I don't think I'll ever have that kind of money again. There is no permanent settlement on this planet so I can't just go live in a town or something. There is nothing here!"
Jim looked regretful. "I know. I'm sorry, I truly am. The new classification for my work comes all the way from Planetary Government and there's nothing I can do about that. You don't have to worry about being left on your own out here, though. For the time being, you’ll stay with me. I can even show you around a bit, describe the work I do here in general terms and so on. There is plenty of information about the project which is not classified, and I can share that with you. We will start tomorrow, at seven sharp."
"Whatever," I said. Great. This trip was already a gigantic disappointment.
Jim frowned. He stood up, towering over me. "A word of advice, Kyle. Lose the attitude. This is not a comfortable suburban home where you've got people cleaning up after you. This is a research outpost on a largely unknown alien planet. You work for me until I get you transferred, and when you do you´ll work for somebody else. Respectfully. Your connections might have gotten you this opportunity over many other qualified applicants, but if you give us anything less than a hundred percent you will be sent off world, at your expense, to pay off your debt in one of the mining colonies. Do I make myself clear?"
I discovered that Jim could be intimidating when he wanted to be. "Yes, sir," I mumbled.
"Good. Be at seven on the main observation deck."
He left. I could hear his heavy boots plonking on the metal lattice that was the floor, and eventually the sound faded with distance.
I was pissed. At him, at the situation, at everything. But I was also really tired from the trip. I didn't even take off my clothes before I fell asleep.
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